Chapter 004 Self Control

Song Recommendation: I Don't Even Care About You by Misso

Dilen groaned, pushing himself off his bed sluggishly. He picked up his glasses, glancing at his watch, 9:00 AM.

Given the drama he was framed for, he had been up all night, drinking his frustration away; and fortunately for him, his morning welcomed him with a blasting headache.

"Finally, you're up!"

He snapped his eyes to the door, spotting his friends.

"How long have you been here?"

"An hour. We've been downstairs ever since", Andrew shrugged.

They stepped forward to the bed. Dilen gingerly stood up, pushing back his glasses. He was still dressed in his shirt from the previous day.

"Here!" Andrew thrusted his hand forward. Dilen looked down at his grip confused. "What's this?"

"It's your ticket to Nigeria. Your father gave them to us".

"Already!?"

"Yep! So get set, you leave at noon". Dilen was not at all please with the fact that his father wasted no time in sending him out to lie to the public, especially not giving him the benefit of doubt.

"You guys aren't coming?"

"Nope", Andrew retorted.

Despite being one of Dilen's oldest friend, Andrew didn't see the need in poking into Dilen's personal shit, After all, he wasn't obligated to.

"Not yet!", Roman stepped forward. Being a soft-hearted person, Roman knew they couldn't let their friend suffer on such a journey alone. "We'll be there a week or two after you get there".

"You know what?" Dilen seized the tickets, "Fuck it, I'll handle the shit alone, you don't have to come". Dilen turned, ready to march to the bathroom.

Andrew held back his arm, "Look man. We didn't find it important to come with you because once you find the girl, you'll come back here with her. But if it matters that much to you, we can still follow".

And with those words being spoken, a sinister grin appeared on Dilen's lips as he gently pulled his arm away. He relaxed his shoulders, cocking his head at his friend. His lunatic mind kicked in.

They gave him a confused look, wondering what caused the sudden change in his demeanor.

"Leave".

"What?" Andrew rose his brows.

"Get out. Now", Dilen kept a composed calm smile, presenting the exact opposite of what he was feeling inside.

"Dilen why—", Roman tried to speak.

"I said get your disintegrated asses out of my house. Not room, house. Now leave", his expression didn't change.

His grin widened as he looked at each and everyone one of them. Andrew clenched his jaw in annoyance, knowing Dilen was nothing but dead serious.

He stepped back. "Fine!" Andrew wried to the door and walked out without a word. Paul and Roman stared at their friend for a few seconds before they walked out as well.

• • •

Dilen walked out of the shower with a towel around his waist and his hands resting on the edge of the sink. His heart was pounding at an unusual rate. His breathing quickened as he tried to control his fidgeting arms and fingers, taking in large gasps of air.

It was starting again.

"This isn't you", he whispered to himself, shaking. His voice was fluctuating. He fell his elbows to the edge, losing balance in his limbs. The part of him was fighting too hard.

With his blonde hair dripping down and sticking to his forehead, he looked up at his reflection. Groaning with struggles to push himself up, he stretched for the cabin closest to the mirror, picking out two bottles of pills.

He angrily opened them, tossing a hand full into his mouth. Staring at himself, he grinded the pills, before swallowing them raw.

He washed his face, pushing his hair backward. His body was still quivering and his hands were unstable.

Unable to control the spilled anger from his true self, he smashed his fist into the mirror, damaging the skin of his knuckles.

He sighed, staring up at the cracked mirror. He then realized he had accidentally washed out one of his contacts, revealing his real eye color.

His dark blue hallow eyes stared deep into his reflection. "This is not you", he whispered to himself again. Briskly, he pulled out a pack from the cabin, putting on another pair of eye contacts.

His two eyes were now back to dark green.

He exhaled, trying to calm himself down. "Fuck!", He thrusted his hand through his hair. "Keep it together...".

"You can't let it control you", he grinded his teeth.

For years, he had struggled to contain the monster in him, but every day it got harder. Not even the meds had any effect on him.

He knew if he didn't try hard enough, he might return to the beast he once locked down. A part of him he would always be ashamed of.

• • •

Delia snapped her eyes open, pushing herself up from her lying position. Her eyes slowly grazed around her surrounding.

"Oh shit!" She slapped her forehead. The warm breeze from the tall orange leaves caressed her skin. The sky was cloudless and calm, with deafening silence around her.

She slowly got up, accompanied by the cracking sounds of dry leaves under her feet. She exhaled, "Forest. We're in a forest!" She held her waist.

Looking down on herself, she realised she was still in the same clothes she slept with. She sighed.

For someone who just woke up in an unknown forest after falling asleep on her bed, she seemed unreasonably calm. Her eyes continued to graze around.

"Delia...", The breeze whispered. She turned around, looking around to nothing but trees. 

"Delia!" She snapped her head behind to the sharp feminine voice. She froze at the sight of the black woman before her. 

She was tall, thick, and huge in physic. Her hair was braided and tired into a bun, dressed in a long ankara grown.

The woman looked at her with a smile. "Mum?" Delia whispered. The woman was none other than Alan Rachel, her mother. 

The woman parted her lips, "You came home late today, Delia. Did you go anywhere?" The woman's demeanor was composed and serene.

Delia stepped forward, "No mum, I came home immediately after lunch with my friends–".

"Lies!", the smile was still on Delia's mother's lips.

"No! No mum I--".

"Lies! Stop lying Delia", her voice was still calm.

"Mum I--".

"You love to lie Delia. You always do...", Rachel's lips stretched into an abnormal length, reaching the points of her ears. 

It was as if an invisible force was stretching her lips open, forcing her teeth out.

Her face slowly turned sinister and vile, with her eyes darkening and her skin deteriorating. 

Delia took a step back, watching her mother's face turn into disgust. Rachel's teeth began to change into fangs. Blood began to pour out from her mouth.

"Mum?" Delia stepped back, watching her mother grunt as she fell to her knees.

Rachel didn't break eye contact with Delia as she shouted, her voice coming out as a mixture of numerous voices of both males and females.

"You lie Delia. You always lie! Just like how you'll lie and kill your father and me!!!"

She let out a loud high pitched inhuman cry, sounding like a gigantic eagle.

Delia fell back as an invisible force pushed her down. She gasped, looking at the creature in the form of her mother.

"You. Lie. You. Lie. You always lie".

The creature's bones began to bend and curve into an animal's statue, with the same scary smile on its face.

Its face began to decompress, letting Delia see the maggots fall out of its nose and crawl out of its eyes. The creature cried out once more, arching its back upward.

She noticed a bony movement on it's back as if something was crawling beneath its skin.

Two long twisted horns broke through its skull, accompanied by a roll of live maggots and worms. Its teeth grew longer as it's face stretched out into a snout.

Delia didn't need to wait any longer, as she got up on her feet, racing into the woods in the opposite direction.

She heard the creature cry out once more, sounding like a lion's roar yet a bird's cry. She began to hear hooves run on the leafy ground as the beast chased her.

"Delia!!! YOU LIE!!!"

Delia fastened her strips, panting, not wanting to turn around. The beast got closer to her legs as she ran.

"DELIA!!!"

She felt something of the creature stretch for the back of her leg. Shutting her eyes in fear of being caught, she continued to run, even though her legs began to fail her.

The tentacle-like tail of the monster reached to grab her legs. "AHHH!"

Delia fell into a black deep pit.